


Red moon

by tveckling



Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, It's been almost 50 years since Juliet got her Romeo, M/M, The Escalus are vampires, The rest are humans, Tybalt is a vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-16 05:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11247159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: Written for the prompt: "How about a hug, hm?"





	Red moon

Tybalt barely managed to stand completely still, every nerve in his body screaming at him to _fight_. Once he would have done exactly that, but now he managed to rein in the impulse—the moment he could breathe again he might try and think whether that was a good or a bad thing. 

Mercutio’s eyes crinkled in amusement as he slipped from a shadow, red eyes flashing before they turned blue. Human blue, as though that could mask the oppressing air of power and blood-thirst flowing through the alley. How humans could be fooled was beyond Tybalt’s realm of understanding, he thought and carefully avoided thinking how he himself had been tricked completely. 

“Such a pleasant surprise,” Mercutio said with a tilt of his head. “Tybalt, as I live and breathe.” Tybalt’s flinch didn’t go unnoticed, and it grated on him to see Mercutio’s smile widen. “It’s been _ages_ since I last saw you. A decade? A century? Time flies, it’s so hard to keep track-”

“Fifty-five years,” Tybalt hissed, stopping Mercutio’s drawl. It felt like a punch to have that gaze focused on him again so abruptly, but Tybalt didn’t let it show. He didn’t give Mercutio any quarters when he was human, he wouldn’t do it now either. 

“Ah. Right.” The smile slid off Mercutio’s face, leaving him somber and quiet. It was strange, to say the least, and Tybalt felt more like the prey waiting for the predator to pounce. “They buried her last week. My condolences.”

If it had been ten years earlier, or a year, or even two weeks, Tybalt would have ignored his better senses and attacked Mercutio—he would probably have died for the attempt, but he wouldn’t have cared. Now, however, he tightened his fists and looked down at the ground. 

“Romeo was there, along with their kids,” Mercutio continued unprompted. “Along with their own spouses and children. I saw a few of them had your eyes, and your nose. Quite charming. It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful ceremony.”

“You were there?” Tybalt whispered, still staring at the dirt at his feet. 

“I was closer than you, evidently. Benvolio and I keep contact, and I got here a couple days before she passed. We talked a lot about you.” Steps. Mercutio’s voice was closer when he spoke again. “You haven’t visited her once. I would ask you why, but I think I have a pretty good grasp on the reason.”

Tybalt gritted his teeth, feeling the tips of his fangs bite into his lip. Still he fought to keep his composure. A tremor went through his body when a pair of boots stopped right in front of his. Tybalt refused to look up, closing his eyes instead, and he could hear Mercutio’s huff of amusement. 

“How about a hug, hm? Will that make you feel better?” Mercutio’s voice breathed into Tybalt’s ear. 

Instincts overwhelming his mind Tybalt whipped his face up and grabbed Mercutio’s jacket, turning around and slamming him into the wall. Not even a heartbeat later Tybalt’s mouth was on Mercutio’s, connecting them in a rough, bloody kiss. A part of his mind was wondering how he was still alive, but the rest of him was focused on pushing Mercutio against the wall as hard as possible and kissing him until there wasn’t any hint of a smile left. 

Mercutio evidently wasn’t adverse to the idea as he kissed back just as fiercely, his fingers biting into Tybalt’s back as though there wasn’t a barrier of clothing. The simple fact that he had let Tybalt move him was enough to show that he didn’t mind Tybalt laying a hand on him, and at any other time Tybalt would have stewed over the fact. As it was he had other things on his mind.

Mercutio, as a Pure vampire, was a whole other different class than Tybalt, who had been turned. The blood in his veins was completely different than Tybalt’s, even had not the Escalus been of particularly old blood—age gave power, after all, and those born vampires inherited the blood from those before. Any Pure vampire had more power than those who had been turned, and the fact that they were well aware of that made Tybalt avoid them like plague. 

There was no one who had blood quite as euphoric, however, Tybalt thought as he had to pull away from Mercutio and gather his wits. Mercutio’s lips were a bloody mess, and when he saw it a whimper escaped from Tybalt. Normally he would have felt mortified about the sound, but the world was sharper than ever and he felt stronger than he had done before. Fearless, invincible. 

Mercutio’s lips stretched into a lazy grin, his lips healing as he spoke. “I, for one, think that was better than a hug. Good choice, Catulet mine.”

“Why did you let her turn me?” Tybalt stared at Mercutio’s lips, his mind far away. He wasn’t even aware of speaking until he heard the words, and then he was desperate to hear the answer. 

Mercutio’s smile slid off his face for the second time that night, but instead of the quiet softness from before his face turned hard. “Do you still think I had something to do with that? I would never turn anyone against their will, and I don’t allow anyone in my territory to do it either. That bastard was punished immediately when I found out what she had done, as you well know.” When he pushed Tybalt couldn’t help but stumble back, barely avoiding falling. “This is getting on my nerves, kitten. The moment I found out what had happened I intervened, I took care of her, I cared for you and helped you learn our ways, and when you wanted to leave I introduced you to someone who could continue teaching you. Even after all that you keep questioning me every single time we meet?”

The feeling of being invincible quickly disappeared in the face of Mercutio’s anger, guilt flowing in its place. It was true; Mercutio had been so furious when he found Tybalt and Catarina that Tybalt still felt shivers when he thought back. The fate of the older vampire had been terrible, even though Tybalt hadn’t been capable of any empathy back then, because in Mercutio’s eyes one of the worst crimes was turning an unwilling human. He had done everything he could for Tybalt, even after Tybalt had decided he had to leave Verona.

Tybalt kept his mouth closed. He shouldn’t have come back. He already knew Julia was dead when he got the letter, and he knew that only memories and pain would await him—so why had he gone? 

Mercutio sighed. “I feel like having a drink. A long, good drink. There’s a place not far from here, with an innkeeper who always have good stuff in his inventory.” He wiggled his eyebrows at Tybalt’s nonplussed face. “Don’t worry, it’s on me. We can talk—or not talk, in case you want to sit quiet and grumpy—and drink the whole night and day—you still have your gift, right? It was expensive, so I sure hope- oh, good. It’ll be fun.” 

Tybalt pressed his lips together, feeling like he’d rather just go and hide somewhere and sort out his thoughts and emotions. The realization that he had thrown himself on Mercutio and tried kissing him senseless was just now sinking in, and he preferred to go wallow in his misery by himself. 

With a snort Mercutio grabbed his arm, his grip tight enough to show that he wasn’t going to let Tybalt pull his arm back. “Come now. We’ll drink to those assholes who are out there in the world despite our best attempts to remove them from it, and to all the wonderful men and women we haven’t yet made acquaintance with, and to those we might still call family or even friends if we drink enough. We’ll drink to those who have left the world but never our hearts.”

It was such a sentimental line that Tybalt found himself snorting and shaking his head. “We’re vampires; we don’t get drunk like humans,” he said while fighting his smile. He didn’t want Mercutio to be too encouraged. “You think you can pay for that?”

“Oh, my dear Tybalt, I very much doubt you can throw anything at me that I can’t take care of. I have known Paris for over a hundred years, and I have no doubts in my mind that he drinks more than you will ever be able to,” Mercutio shot back with a wide grin and a glint in his eyes. 

“You haven’t seen me drinking in half a century. You might be surprised,” was all that Tybalt said. He allowed himself a small smile when Mercutio threw his head back and laughed. 

In the back of his head he was still in pain, aching to follow Julia into the unknown. But the man at his side was talking and smiling, and more than enough to distract him from his dark thoughts. He didn’t fight the grip on his arm too much.


End file.
